One Sacred Moment
by OBXTrekkie
Summary: When Kirk is criticaly injured during an away mission, a split second decision on the part of crew member Tyla Kir saves his life. But at what cost?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **I appreciate honest feedback, and your comments keep me inspired!

**One Sacred Moment**

Chapter 1

He leaped into the air and thrust the ball toward the goal. To his dismay, it skirted across the tips of his opponent's outstretched fingers, glanced off the rim, and bounced aimlessly across the court. A split second later, the two men collided shoulder to chest in mid air. Spock quickly regained his footing, while Kirk landed on his back on the floor. He wasn't sure what stung worse, the impact of the hard gym floor against his back, or the blow to his pride of his second defeat in as many days.

Just the barest hint of a smile tugged at the corners of the Vulcan's lips as he reached out a hand. Kirk took it and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.

"You're getting better at this, Spock."

"Curious," Spock mused. Kirk buried his face in his towel, then looked back at his First Officer.

"What?"

"I've always found human sports a bit inane." He paused, and picked up his own towel. "But this one is proving to be more of a challenge than I expected. I find the challenge...invigorating."

They both understood the metaphor Kirk's "this" referred to, not literally the game of basketball, but the game of a young Captain and his half-human, half-Vulcan First Officer figuring out how to play, and lead, together.

Kirk tucked the ball under his arm and stopped short of slapping Spock on the back. In their short time serving together, he'd already learned a good bit about his second in command's disdain for his physical displays of camaraderie. Instead he merely offered him a nod and a smile. "Maybe you just never had a worthy opponent before."

Spock raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps."

Kirk started to say more, but the beep of the com panel on the wall interrupted him.

"Bridge to Captain Kirk."

He wiped his face with the towel again as he answered. "Kirk here, go ahead Lieutenant."

"Captain we're picking up a distress call. It appears to be from a Federation scout ship."

"Let us hear it down here, Hannity."

"Yes sir, stand by."

Kirk and Spock exchanged puzzled glances as a garbled, static-ridden message crackled from the small speaker.

"Mayday...scout ship...ance...life...failure. Evac to...surface..."

Kirk tapped the speaker button. "Hannity, can you clean that up?"

"I'm sorry, sir. That is as clear as we've been able to make it. There seems to be some sort of interference at the source."

"Can you pinpoint their location?"

Sulu responded. "It appears to be originating from the Lyros system, Captain."

Again, Kirk and Spock looked at each other, and Spock answered the obvious immediate question. "Approximately one hour from our present location, Captain."

Kirk nodded. "All right, Sulu plot a course to the Lyros system, Warp 4. Hannity can you raise them?"

"No, sir. I've tried to hail them several times with no response."

"All right, relay their message to Starfleet command. Let them know we're responding. Have Dr. McCoy and Lieutenant Uhura meet us in the briefing room in 15 minutes."

"Aye, Captain."

Fifteen minutes later, Kirk sat at the head of the table in the conference room and listened to his senior staff weigh in on their situation.

Spock addressed the group first. "Lyros is largely unexplored. The scout vessel Alliance is in the early stages of mapping the system. Long range sensor scans indicate ion storms in the area, which may account for Alliance's garbled communications."

Kirk turned his attention to Uhura. "Were you able to clean up their message, Lieutenant?"

"I was, but not enough to get us much more information. We can confirm it's the Alliance, and that their life support system was failing."

"They'd have no choice but to evacuate," McCoy offered. "What's their crew compliment?"

Kirk nodded in agreement and answered the doctor's question. "Six, typically on a Scout ship. Mr. Spock, how far did they get with their sensor sweeps? What do we know about the system?"

"There is one Class M planet Captain. According to the Alliance's data, there are humanoid life forms occupying the large northern and central continents."

Kirk raised his glance to Lieutenant Tyla Kir, seated across from him. "What do we know about them?"

"According to Alliance's reports, they're humanoid, with a few subtle differences in physiology from humans. Initial sweeps of the planet didn't pick up any industrial equipment or recognizable technology, which would suggest they're a primitive culture. They're concentrated on the northern and central continents, as Mr. Spock said, most likely due to violent storms that plague the southern portion of the planet."

The group was quiet for a minute, until voiced what they were all thinking. "It might have been difficult for the Alliance crew to avoid populated areas, especially if they had to evacuate quickly."

"Which they would have, if their life support system was failing."

Kirk glanced from Kir to McCoy and back again, even as he ran through potential scenarios in his head.

"All right, let's keep our landing party to a minimum. Bones I want you along. Have Mr. Sulu join us, and give us a small security detail, 2 at the most."

"I take it you'll be joining the landing party, Captain?"

Their eyes met briefly and Kirk knew regulations regarding Captains and away missions were on the tip of Spock's tongue. He tried not to smile.

"Based on the potential for this to become a first contact situation, yes I am."

Spock nodded but didn't reply. Uhura spoke next and echoed Kirk's main concern.

"Sir the ion storms in the area will pose a problem with communications, and transporters. I'll know more once we're in orbit, but most likely there will be a window of time where we won't be able to

communicate, or beam you out."

"We'll have to time things around that the best way we can. With any luck we'll be able to locate the crew and beam them out, without sending down a landing party."

McCoy leaned back in his seat. "How long until we arrive?"

"Twenty-seven minutes, Doctor."

Kirk smiled at Spock's habitual precision. "I want everyone ready to go as soon as we're in orbit. Hopefully the Alliance crew is safe, but we can't afford to waste any time. We need to get them out as quickly as possible." He scanned the faces of the group, then got to his feet. "Dismissed."

Lt. Kir stopped next to him. "Captain, a word?"

"Yes Lieutenant?"

She waited, and Kirk watched the rest of the group file out, then relaxed against the table. He met her gaze with a smile, pretty sure he already knew what she wanted to ask.

"What's on your mind?"

"I'd really like to be on this away team."

He shrugged, unable to resist the urge to play with her just the tiniest bit.

"It's just a swoop and scoop, nothing too exciting."

She didn't bite. "Jim, you know that's not likely to be the case."

"I'm really hoping it is," he confessed.

"Well, at any rate, observation of alien cultures is part of my job. And you and I both know there's a chance this could become a first contact situation. That's what I'm trained for."

He watched her expression and didn't answer right away. She waited, then hit him with the exact weapon he would have used in her place.

"Besides, you played the first contact card pretty well just now, so you can't say you don't see the potential."

"All right, all right, you've got a point. Be ready when we arrive, but just you not a full team. At least until we know the whole situation."

She nodded and turned to go. He smiled and wagged a finger at her. "You've gotten pretty good at getting your way lately, you know that?"

A broad grin crossed her face. "I learned from the best."

He chuckled as he followed her out of the room. He made his way back toward the bridge and enjoyed the memory that played in his head.

_It all came back to him at once, the subdued lighting in the bar, the pounding beat of the music, and the way his heart pounded in his chest as he thought over everything he should be doing. He should be studying, or working out, or even sleeping for that matter. The last thing he needed to be doing the night before first semester exams was sitting here getting wasted. _

_He sipped his drink and mentally went over the schedule in his head. The tests would go fine, he knew that. The academic end of academy life had, so far, been a breeze for him. The rest of it hadn't been so easy. The transition from Earth bound, hard drinking playboy to regulation following academy cadet had proven far more difficult than he could have imagined. _

_After a few minutes he allowed himself to be distracted, as he always did, by the enticing scenery that surrounded him. He noticed Uhura at a table across the room as she laughed and talked with another cadet. He recognized the other woman from several simulations he'd participated in., but her name eluded him. _

_After a few too many shots of liquid courage, he made his way over to their table. Uhura cast him a look of disgust. _

"_Here comes trouble."_

_He grinned, used to that reaction from her, and took a seat in the vacant chair. "Hello ladies, mind if I join you?"_

_Uhura rolled her eyes. "Isn't it customary to ask that **before** you sit down?"_

_He turned his attention to the other cadet. "Is she always this uptight?"_

_She looked from him to Uhura and back again. Uhura got to her feet and tugged on her jacket. "I'll see you tomorrow, Tyla."_

"_Okay, g'nite."_

_She turned on her heels to go and Kirk watched her, then introduced himself. "I'm Jim Kirk."_

"_Yeah, I know who you are."_

"_Uh oh, so my reputation precedes me then." _

"_A little bit, yeah." She let her comment hang there, then relented a little. "I'm Tyla Kir."_

"_Well, good to meet you, Tyla Kir."_

_She watched him knock back the rest of his drink, and he motioned the waiter for another one, then leaned up on the table and looked at the screen in her hands. _

"_So, what are you studying?"_

"_Anthropology, alien cultures." _

"_Ah, first contact stuff."_

"_Some of it, yeah. I have a first contact simulation tomorrow morning actually." She watched him accept the fresh drink from the waiter and chug half of it. "Aren't you in the fast track officer's program?"_

"_I am."_

"_Then, don't you have something you should be studying for?"_

"_I am studying, I'm studying the local wildlife."_

_She laughed as she turned off the screen and slipped it into the bag at her side. "Well, then, sorry to disappoint you but I think you're in the wrong neck of the woods."_

_Her gentle rejection was better than the cold shoulder brush off he often got, so he decided not to give up quite yet. "Ah, uh...okay. Can I ask why?"_

_She closed her bag and finished off the last of her own drink. For a minute she looked down into the cup, then set it on the table and looked into his face. _

"_Okay, I'll be totally honest here -"_

"_Oh, that's never good."_

_She grinned and shook her head. "Well, at least hear me out. I do have a confession to make."_

"_Okay, sure."_

"_I knew who you were because I've been paying attention, because you've got my curiosity up."_

_He brightened. "Really? Well now that has potential."_

"_Yeah, I'm curious as to why a guy like you, with everything going for him, would put so much more energy into drinking and getting laid than you do into your career track."_

_He stared at her for a second as he tried to process her blatant observation, unsure if he should be offended or not. _

"_I'm not sure why that's any of your business...exactly...?"_

"_You're trying to pick me up, so of course it's my business." She watched his reaction then continued. "Besides, I'm nosy. Call it character flaw."_

_The cloud of alcohol made it difficult for him to decipher her real meaning, and he wondered for a minute if she was just toying with him. He tried to come up with a clever answer to throw her off his trail, but he drew a blank. She waited patiently for a reply, and he tried to read her expression, but came up empty._

_He leaned back in his chair. "So, I guess that means I have 0 chance of getting laid tonight."_

_She laughed, as though his comment genuinely amused her. She shook her head and reached for her jacket. _

"_I don't think you need to get laid tonight."_

_He searched for sarcasm in her statement, but found none. "Oh, you don't huh?"_

"_No, and you definitely don't need any more drinks." _

"_Well then, what exactly do I need?"_

_She looked into his face again, and her expression betrayed just the barest hint of affection. "A friend."_

"_A friend?"_

"_Yes, a friend. You know, someone you can hang out with, talk to, commiserate with, whose company you can enjoy...all without the sexual undertones and all the complications that go with them?"_

_Her comment stung his pride, even though it was delivered without any malice that he could detect. _

"_I have plenty of friends." He finished his drink, and hoped his surly tone might urge her to back off. _

"_Really?"_

_He stared into her eyes, annoyed. "Yes, really."_

_She stared back, then asked him a question to which he didn't know the answer. "Then why are you drinking alone?"_

_He wanted to be angry, but her soft expression diffused his annoyance and intrigued him. _

"_I don't know."_

_She got to her feet, and slipped on her jacket. She slung her bag across her shoulder and smiled. "Come on."_

"_Come where?"_

"_For a walk. It's a beautiful night and the cool air will do you some good."_

_He hesitated, though he wasn't sure why, and finally got to his feet and followed her. _

Kirk turned off the memory as he stepped into the turbo lift that would take him up to the bridge, but the mood of it lingered with him. Only four years had passed since that night in the bar, though it felt like an eternity. Their walk back to the academy campus began a friendship that lasted, even without, as she was fond of saying, _complications_...

The turbo lift glided to a stop and the doors slid open. The noise of the bridge brought him back to the present, and the task before him. Spock glanced his way.

"We're coming up on the Lyros system, Captain. Still no contact from the Alliance crew."

Kirk nodded and stared at the view screen as they dropped out of warp at the edge of a small system of planets.

"Where are we headed?"

Spock nodded toward the screen. "The fourth planet, on the right on the main view screen."

Kirk looked at the brownish, unassuming round mass ahead of them. "I don't see the Alliance anywhere. Is she still in orbit?"

His eyes focused on his own station, Spock answered. "She should come into view in a moment. Our sensors indicate she's still in a standard orbit. I am reading a non-functioning life support system, and no life signs on board.

Kirk watched as they got closer and the tiny scout vessel came into view. From the outside it appeared undamaged.

"Sulu, can you tell what's wrong with the life support system?"

"Not conclusively, no Sir."

Kirk watched the screen a minute longer, then glanced over at Uhura. "Lt. Uhura, any communication at all from the crew?"

"No Sir, only the emergency emitter signal from the ship."

"Captain, I am reading life signs on the planet, humanoid with subtle biological deviations from normal human readings. There are large groups of them, spread out over the habitable continents." He turned his chair to face Kirk. "There are no discernible human readings down there."

Kirk considered the possibilities. "Is it possible the ion storm activity is obscuring the readings?"

"Unlikely in this case, Captain. The ionic interference is mostly on the lower hemisphere."

"So then, either the Alliance crew didn't make it off the ship, or they're dead down on the surface?"

"Both are possibilities. Also I am detecting that the Alliance's shuttle craft has been launched."

"Captain, I am picking up a second beacon now," Uhura added. She nodded Spock's way. "It's the emergency beacon from the shuttle."

"Spock, where are the planet's inhabitants in relation to the shuttle?"

"There is a large group of them, approximately 2400 meters to the east."

Kirk looked at him, and Spock looked back, both fully aware how complicated their mission had just become.

"That's close."

Spock nodded. "It is. It may be difficult to avoid them."

Kirk thought things over as he watched Sulu maneuver them into position to orbit Lyros 4. Their options were limited, and as he usually did, he went with his instincts over protocol.

"Alright, Mr. Sulu, standard orbit."

"Aye, Captain."

Kirk stepped back to his seat and tapped the com button. "Bridge to Engineering...Mr. Scott."

"Scott here, Captain."

"Scotty, we're in orbit near the Alliance. I want you take a crew aboard and see what you can do with their life support systems, and see if you can determine the cause of the failure."

"Aye, Captain. We're ready when you are."

"Good, get over there right away."

He closed the channel before Scotty replied, and turned his attention back to Spock. "I'll take a team down to the shuttle and see if we can locate the crew in the immediate area, or at least find out what happened to them. Once we're down there, I'll advise you."

Spock nodded and didn't say more. Uhura turned in Kirk's direction.

"Captain there will be a forty minute window after you transport down, when the ion activity will keep us from communicating or beaming you out." Her professional tone didn't completely mask her concern.

"Thank you, Lieutenant."

Kirk took one more look at the planet before he left the bridge. Moments later he stood in the transporter room and updated the landing party on their situation.

"We didn't read any life signs on the Alliance or on the planet's surface, so this may be a recovery mission. But until we're sure we're treating it like a rescue mission and we'll proceed accordingly." He glanced at Lt. Kir, then continued to address the group. "We all know the potential for this to become a first contact situation, so I want each and every one of you to proceed with extreme caution, and don't do anything unless you're directly told to."

The group nodded their understanding, and took up their places on the transporter pad. The Ensign at the controls plugged in the coordinates Spock had given him, and met Kirk's gaze.

"Ready to transport, Sir."

"Energize."


	2. Chapter 2

**One Sacred Moment**

Chapter 2

Kirk felt the heat of the planet's climate before the dry desert terrain materialized in his line of vision. He cautiously drew his phaser as he scanned the area, as did Sulu and the others. McCoy activated his tricorder and quickly scanned the area.

"It's just us, Jim. There's a good 2000 meters between us and the nearest life readings."

"Alright good." The group relaxed a little and waited for direction. "Any human life signs, Bones?"

McCoy shook his head. "No, nothing."

His gaze on his own tricorder, Sulu spoke up. "The shuttle is about one hundred meters in that direction, Captain. Just over that ridge."

Kirk cast a glance at the small embankment Sulu indicated, and then led the team that way. After a brief, easy climb they found themselves looking down into a small valley. The Bishop, Alliance's shuttle craft, sat a short distance ahead. Debris surrounded the small craft. The main door, torn from it's supports, lay broken on the ground. A seat and part of the master control panel littered the ground a few feet away.

Ensign Flynn was the first to verbalize what they were all thinking. "What the Hell happened here?"

"My guess would be the Alliance crew met up with the locals," McCoy muttered.

Kirk looked over at him, but said only, "Let's go down and check it out."

The made their way down the edge of the embankment and approached the shuttle with caution, not sure what they might find inside.

The damage inside belied a struggle, but none of the crew remained. Kirk couldn't be sure if he was more relieved or disappointed not to find them. He wanted to find them alive and unharmed, but the condition of the shuttle overshadowed his hope.

He turned to Flynn, who had followed him into the craft. The fear in the young man's eyes caught him by surprise. He ignored it and gave him something to keep him busy.

"I want you to check things out in here and give me a complete damage report."

"Yes, Sir."

Kirk started to say more but a voice from outside demanded his attention.

"Captain Kirk!"

He ducked out through the low door and squinted in the bright light. "What is it?"

"Footprints, here...look." Sulu pointed out large, foot shaped indentation in the dry soil. Their shape suggested human, but their size indicated otherwise.

Kirk looked over at Lt. Kir as she knelt next to one of them.

"What do you make of them, Lieutenant?"

"They're large, and deep...whoever made these was probably at least eight feet tall and by the depth I'd guess at least 250 to 300 pounds. Judging by the pattern here in the instep and toe area, I'd say they were made by a bare foot, which goes along with my primitive culture theory." She stared into the imprint and then let her eyes wander across the ground, and fixed her gaze on the shuttle craft

She didn't say anything more for a minute and Kirk waited. Finally she looked up at him. "There are no human footprints here. The Alliance crew never even made it out of the shuttle."

Kirk looked back at the crumpled door and other debris. "They were taken."

"It sure looks that way."

Sulu joined them a moment later and nodded toward the other side of the valley. "The tracks go off in that direction, Captain."

"Toward their camp." Kirk followed Sulu's gaze then looked at McCoy as he walked up. "We have to follow them then."

"Follow them? Jim, are you nuts? Look around you."

"We can't leave until we rescue them, Bones." They stared into each others eyes a second, both thinking the same thing. "Or, until we're sure they're dead."

"Poor bastards. They didn't even have time to do anything to provoke an attack," McCoy grumbled.

Lt. Kir shook her head. "If this is a primitive and violent culture, just landing here may have been enough."

Kirk watched her a minute and saw his own concern for their safety reflected in her expression. She met his eyes briefly, then looked away. He looked over the scene once more, then turned to Sulu.

"Sulu, you stay here, and help Flynn with the damage report. Keep an eye out around you, and keep scanning for their positions. Warn us if they're coming our way. We're going to follow these tracks and see if we can find out anything at all about the Alliance crew."

"Aye, Captain."

"Bones, Kir...let's go."

They followed him across the valley and up the step like series of ledges to the top of the opposite side. They paused there and scanned the terrain ahead. Dry, rocky hills rose and fell as far as they could see.

"Bones, which direction?"

McCoy nodded toward the readings his tricorder provided.

"All, right, let's go. Keep scanning, let me know if they start moving our way or you pick up anything at all."

They didn't get far. From the crest of the next hill, a crude structure, a scaffold of sorts, caught Kirk's eye. He held up his hand to the others.

"Wait, stop. Look...over there."

They all studied it, and unconsciously moved forward as they tried to see it more clearly. It appeared to be a heavy log, propped crossways across the high branches of two trees. Something hung from it but none of them could make out what from a distance. After a minute, Kirk urged them forward.

"Come on, let's check it out."

Only a hundred feet later they all froze in their tracks and stared up at six mangled, lifeless bodies.

"My God," McCoy said softly. Lt. Kir said nothing but her shock and horror were obvious as she looked away quickly. Kirk stared up at the bodies, still clothed in tattered Starfleet uniforms, and tried to reign in his anger.

"Damnit." He turned on his heels and took his frustration out on a nearby stone. He kicked it, and watched it stir up plumes of dust as it bounced across the ground. "Damnit, we're too late!"

"Even if we'd been here sooner there might not have been anything we could do." McCoy stared up at the bodies a moment longer then turned his gaze to Kirk. "They didn't stand a chance, Jim and neither do we. We need to get out of here before we end up just like them."

Kirk knew he was right but his blood boiled as he looked up at the six bloody corpses. Kir looked over at him too.

"He's right, Jim. There's nothing more we can do for them now."

He sighed. "I know, you're right. Let's … let's at least get them down from there, give them a little dignity. Bones, record their location, the exact coordinates, and we can beam the bodies up after we get back to the ship."

McCoy nodded, his expression somber. "Already done."

Kirk studied the structure and tested the strength of it, then climbed up the tree closest to him. Together he and McCoy lowered the first body to the ground. McCoy scanned it quickly, and shook his head.

"This didn't happen very long ago, Jim."

Kirk nodded but didn't answer as he moved over and tugged on a heavy piece of rope wrapped around the legs of the second man. None of them spoke for the next several minutes as they went about their grim task. They lowered the last of the bodies to the ground just as the beep of Kirk's communicator demanded their attention.

Kirk swung himself down from the log and dropped to the ground before to answer. "Kirk here, go ahead."

"Captain, our readings show several of life forms headed toward our location from the Southwest."

Kirk glanced around to orient himself, then glanced at Bones. "The encampment we read was that way, to the north, wasn't it?"

McCoy stared at his own tricorder. "Evidently there's an encampment Southwest of here too. I didn't notice it before because I was just looking for the closest group of them."

"Alright, let's get back. Sulu and Flynn are sitting ducks back there." He started walking quickly back in the direction they'd come as he responded to Sulu.

"Sulu, you and Flynn take cover, we're on our way back." He paused a second, then added, "Don't hesitate to use deadly force if you have to."

"Understood, Captain."

Kirk adjusted the frequency on his communicator. "Kirk to Enterprise."

Loud static was the only reply.

"Kirk to Enterprise, come in Enterprise."

"They're still out of range, Jim."

McCoy's statement of the obvious annoyed him, but He didn't have tome to respond. The sound of phaser fire in the distance startled them, and Kirk rushed forward. McCoy and Kir hurried to keep up with him as he spoke into the communicator again.

"Sulu, what's happening?"

Sulu did not respond, but several more phaser blasts could be heard over the channel. Kirk swore under his breath as he swapped out his phaser for the communicator. Moments later they crested the rim of the ridge in time to see Ensign Flynn fire into a stand of trees on the opposite side of the embankment.

Kirk scrambled down the ledge and Kir and McCoy followed. For a moment no one moved or spoke, but the look of sheer terror on Flynn's face unnerved Kirk more than he cared for. He shook it off and took Flynn by the arm.

"What happened?"

"I...I think we got them...them all..."

Sulu emerged from the rear of the shuttle, his phaser also drawn. Kirk saw the same fear in his expression, but he quickly masked it.

"There were four of them, Captain. Or five, possibly. I can't be sure but I think we stunned them all."

"Did they see you?"

Sulu nodded. "Yes, well...not at first, but they came down the ledge over there -"

Flynn interrupted. "I had no choice, Sir...I had to stun them before the got too close...before they could get to us..."

The picture of what had happened became clear, and Sulu nodded at the questioning glance Kirk cast him. Flynn watched their interaction, then confessed his hasty actions.

"Mr. Sulu told me to wait, Sir...to see what they would do, but when I saw them getting so close, I panicked, and fired -"

Kirk nodded to McCoy to take Flynn aside. "Alright, it's alright Ensign, just go with Dr. McCoy. Once they moved away Kirk looked back to Sulu.

I'm sorry, Captain. I told him to wait, but I guess the sight of them got the better of him."

"Did you get a good look at them?"

Sulu nodded. "They're huge, every bit as large as Lt. Kir speculated, and they look human but, their faces were...distorted a bit, and I believe they had large fangs."

Kirk looked around. "Well, that's just great."

He thought things over and then addressed the group. "Alright, let's get back to the beam down point and hope the Enterprise is back in range before our friends come back with reinforcements."

He turned back to Sulu. "So you said they all came from up that way?"

Sulu nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Alright, let's head out the way we came in. Sulu, you come with me."

Sulu followed him up the side of the embankment where they'd first entered the valley. A quick glance around the area revealed nothing but landscape. Convinced the area was clear, Kirk turned back to motion the rest of the group to follow them.

A sudden look of shock on Sulu's face caught him off guard and he turned back. A large man-creature stood directly in his path, and towered over him. Kirk raised his phaser only to have it instantly slapped away, by a hand twice the size of his. He scrambled backward but the Lyr caught up to him with one easy stride. He glared at Kirk with narrowed eyes, filled with aggression and something Kirk could only decipher as pure, unadulterated hatred.

He raised both his hands in a futile defensive move just as the man-creature lunged forward. The sickening sound of metal piercing flesh was instantly followed by excruciating pain, the likes of which he'd never experienced. A scream pierced the otherwise still air and he realized it was his own. His assailant roughly reclaimed the weapon and he caught a brief glimpse of the bloodied tip of a crude spear before his vision was obscured by a heavy spray of bright red blood. It burned his eyes and filled his mouth with a vile, almost metallic taste.

He fell backward off the ledge and hit the ground hard. Pain shot through his back and head on impact, but quickly paled in comparison to the inferno in his chest. A second later, the Lyr crumbled in a heap a few feet from him and he became aware of the rest of the team surrounding him.

He gasped for air and every breath burned. He reached out and McCoy's hands gripped his.

"Jim -"

The pain in his best friend's eyes confirmed what he already knew. He tried to speak, but blood filled his mouth, and spilled across his face. He choked and coughed, and McCoy gripped his hands tighter.

"I'm here, Jim. I'm here."

The bright daylight dimmed as each breath came harder. Darkness replaced the bright sunlight of Lyros 4. Fragments of conversation made it through the haze of pain but he found it impossible to make sense of them. One voice rose above the din of the others, Bones...desperate to do something, anything to save him.

"...contact the ship...Enterprise...McCoy...read...no use...out of range...15 minutes..."

A memory toyed with him and he tried to pull it in closer.

_She was the last in line,_ _t__o the casual onlooker, their greeting was no different than the other new crew members. The subtle difference existed only for them. He met her eyes, and held her gaze just a fraction of a second longer, and squeezed her hand just a little tighter. _

"_Lieutenant."_

"_Captain."_

Voices penetrated the memory.

"We have to get him back to the ship." _Bones again. _"Enterprise, this is McCoy, do you read me?"

_No reply...not even static. _

"Damnit, they're still out of range."

_'Space is disease and death, and darkness and silence', Bones had once told him. I guess you were right, old friend._

Lieutenant Kir addressed McCoy, panic in her voice_. _"He's bleeding out, we have to do something right now."

He drew on every ounce of strength he could muster to open his eyes. Their faces were partially obscured by the bright sun behind them. The familiar sound of a tricorder scanner distracted him.

"There's massive organ damage, and he's already lost too much blood." McCoy swallowed hard and his voice cracked as he drew the scanner away. "There's nothing we can do."

Kir looked out over the dusty landscape, and the bright sun glistened off the tears that streaked her face.

Too weak to keep them open, Kirk closed his eyes again. As the darkness swallowed him, he thought he heard Kir say, "I can help him."


End file.
